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Saturday, June 7, 2014

The End of an Amazing Freshman Year, and the Start of Great Summer

So, I haven't posted in a while, but a lot has been going on. With the end of school, finals, track, and an internship, I've been super busy. I thought I'd give a quick update on the last couple months, as summer is finally underway....

Freshman Year in Review:
This year, I started public school at Sumner Academy, and it was probably the best year I've ever had. I played on both the freshman and varsity volleyball teams, acted in the winter play (12 Angry Jurors), performed in our Poetry Slam, and ran long distance on our track team. At our League Meet, the Sumner Girls won first place; I received a 2nd place medal for our 4x800m relay, 5th in the mile, and 3rd in the 2 mile.

These activities kept me super happy as well as busy...in addition to these I had some great teachers and met some amazing friends, some of which graduated and will be greatly missed. :) Next year, I'm excited to keep participating in much of the same things: especially volleyball and theater. I am currently writing a One-Act script and I hope to direct it for our performances in the Spring. I've also got a great schedule of classes for my sophomore year, and I'm especially looking forward to being in Chorale! :) Thanks to everyone who made this year super great, and a big thanks to all my family who supported everything I did. ;)

And so after the craziness of school and all, I had a week of doing nothing...in which I very quickly started wanting to do something again. XD

Summer:
Now I have started an internship with Mission Adelante, along with a couple other teens from the neighborhood. This summer we will be busy learning to hear God's voice, helping lead kids' camps, discipling other teens, and just having fun! One week in, though slightly exhausted after 40+ hours of 'work' and activities, I'm loving it and can't wait to see where this summer will take us. :)

My 'writing life' has also been pretty busy - at times slow, but steady. I made a resolution for New Year's that I would write each day for 20 minutes - like creative writing. And here, on the 158 day of the year, I have managed to keep going, every single day with this! At the beginning, I knew it would improve my writing skills, but I didn't expect the results I can see now. To tell the truth, I would recommend this simple exercise to everyone - it makes writing so much easier and definitely a lot less of a daunting task. Now, every time I sit down, the words come easier. What I write each day always varies - sometimes it's a poem, a scene for one of my three book projects, a short story, a piece of a script, a 'letter' to a friend, or a random scene from a writing prompt. No matter what I write, it all helps. I encourage you all to try this, even for a week! Set a time goal and just write...no matter if you consider yourself a writer or not. This can help everyone. :)

That pretty much wraps it up. So far my summer has been wonderful, slightly relaxing, and very fun. I hope yours are all going well! :)

Caroline, you DID have an awesome first year at Sumner and I loved having a front row seat to all your activities. You sure did keep us busy but it was all good. I am very proud of how you have stayed faithful to your writing 20 minutes a day commitment, even when it was late at night and you were very tired. You are a dedicated learner. Love you!!